Steinbrenner heirs’ test will be building upon excellence

George Steinbrenner’s legacy as the owner of the Yankees is secure. But can his heirs sustain it?

In a way, his declining health and retreat from the limelight in recent years gave his sons, Hal and Hank, and his top executive lieutenants, Randy Levine, Lonn Trost and Brian Cashman, a dry run in a world without him.

And the team has not flagged without his considerable ambition, skills and bombast.

The Yankees are still baseball’s most valuable franchise and one of the most recognizable teams in the world. Even after Steinbrenner retired to Florida, the Yankees have maintained baseball’s highest payroll, opened a new Yankee Stadium and won a 27th World Series.